Water sports are popular recreation, exercise and, in some cases, competitive activities which are enjoyed virtually anywhere which has reasonably warm weather and a body of water. Among the most popular of water sports using a boat are water skiing and, to a growing degree, wake boarding. Wake boarders ride a device known as a wake board while being pulled by a tow line or rope behind a suitable power boat (in the same manner that a water skier is pulled behind a boat). Both wake boarders and water skiers will often maneuver laterally across the wake produced by the moving boat in a slalom-like fashion, with the passage of the wake board or skis over the wake lifting the participant into the air, allowing the wake boarder or skier the opportunity, if desired, to perform various flips or other tricks prior to landing back onto the surface of the water.
Obviously, the ride of the wake boarder or skier will in large part be dependent on the level of the wake of the boat being pulled. Moreover, different level wakes may be desirable for different types of tricks. Thus, depending on the combination of tricks which a wake boarder or water skier may desire to perform, varying wake levels may be desirable during a single ride.
Some adjustments to the wake level of a boat having an outboard motor may be accomplished by changing the orientation of the propeller within the water. However, such adjustments are somewhat limited and not easily obtainable with boats that include inboard motors.
A variety of devices have heretofore also been provided to assist in creating a desired wake in such uses. Some devices change the trim of the boat through the provision of ballast in the boat, such as pumping water into or out of bladders to cause the rear of the boat to sit lower or higher in the water, or to simply add weight such as concrete blocks to the boat. However, such devices may only change the boat trim slowly, and therefore quick changes to the wake level may not be quickly accomplished. This may not only generally frustrate the wake boarder or skier, but also may make a quick succession of different tricks requiring different wake levels impossible. Further, devices of this type may be dangerous if not used correctly as they may cause the boat to sit too low in the water.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,860,384 discloses a hydrofoil which is pivotably secured to the transom of a boat, and which may be pivoted to adjust the wake provided by the boat. However, boats using this device and others such as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,549,071 may not be ideally maneuvered. Moreover, while such devices may assist in controlling the boat wake, it is necessary for the wake boarder or skier being towed to communicate the desired wake to the boat driver, or for the boat driver to anticipate the desires of the wake boarder or skier, or for the wake boarder or skier to adjust what he or she does in response to the wake level selected by the boat driver.
The present invention is directed toward overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.